


After Quidditch

by Kikacat



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Ex-Friends to Friends, Fluff, Friends to more, M/M, OCD, Pining, mild anxiety
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-11
Updated: 2017-02-11
Packaged: 2018-09-23 10:53:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9652796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kikacat/pseuds/Kikacat
Summary: Percy had no idea why Oliver stopped being his friend. After Quidditch one day, he finds out.





	

Percy sat at the small desk in the 6th year boy’s dorm. He placed the inkpot exactly five centimetres from the top right corner of the blank parchment in front of him and a spare quill three centimetres from the top of the page. Everything was neat, tidy and in its place. He felt himself relax. 

It wasn’t that he enjoyed studying alone in his room, but people stared and muttered and laughed at his “quirks” if he did it in the common room. He had to study hard, had to be as good as he could be. He had so much to live up to. Bill was the coolest person anyone could ever meet and was still talked about fondly by the older students and professors. Charlie was already a legend with the stories of his antics in class, and now he was off working with dragons in Romania. Fred and George, with their endless supply of jokes and tricks, were extremely popular amongst the other students and Ron was, of course, best friends with the “boy who lived”. Percy was just Percy. Apart from his parents, his family had barely raised an eyebrow when he was made a Prefect.

Percy had a plan, he was going to be Head Boy, get excellent grades, better than any of his siblings, and go to work at the Ministry. He was going to work hard, network with the right people and eventually become someone important, worthy of respect in his own right. He just wished he knew how to get people to like him, like they did his brothers. Shaking the dark thoughts off, he pulled out his Transfiguration textbook and began to study. 

It was starting to get dark when the noise in the common room became too loud to ignore. Cheers and chants made their way up the stairs and Percy realised Gryffindor must have won todays Quidditch match. He flicked his wand carefully at the door, muting the sounds from downstairs. He settled himself back over his work and focused on the words in front of him.

He heard the door open and soft footsteps enter the room. The smell of damp fabric, leather and mud reached him. He didn’t look up. It could only be Oliver. Why he insisted on only showering in the dorms and not in the changing rooms was beyond him. Oliver would track mud throughout the room, drop his clothes in a pile at the end of the bed and leave the bathroom a mess. Percy huffed to himself, but said nothing. There was no point.

He and Oliver had been friends once. First and second year they’d been best friends, even in third year when Oliver’s Quidditch obsession had gone into overdrive with his acceptance onto the team, they’d remained close, but on return to Hogwarts for fourth year, everything changed. For almost a month, Oliver was quiet and would barely look at him. Their conversations, fun and jokes had all dried up. Percy had tried everything he could think of, even asking his Mum for advice, but Oliver stayed resolutely silent. Eventually, he had just started spending less and less time with Oliver, until he was nothing more than another boy he shared a room with. It had hurt. Oliver had been his only close friend and he still didn’t know what had caused the friendship to dissolve. 

Percy could hear Oliver undressing and heard his footsteps as they crossed the floor to the bathroom. He didn’t look up on purpose, he didn’t realise he had until his eyes were locked with Oliver’s. 

Oliver’s hair was wet, and drips ran down his face onto his shoulders and chest, leaving trails through the mud. Percy’s eyes followed the path of one of droplets, as it made its way down Oliver’s neck, into the dip above his collarbone. Percy licked his lips and Oliver froze, a look of astonishment crossing his face.

Percy immediately averted his eyes back to the parchment in front of him, feeling his face flush in what would have to be an embarrassing shade of red, clashing horribly with his hair. What on earth had possessed him to do that? He’d had a girlfriend for God’s sake, and he’d certainly never thought about a boy like that before. He could feel himself start to panic, his heart racing, and his breathing getting harder to control. Oliver was still stood there, staring at him.

Percy was positive he was about to get hexed within an inch of his life. At least there was no-one else here to see it. He curled his hands into fists, nails biting into his palms, and tried to slow his breathing. He closed his eyes and tried to focus. In his mind, he could see Oliver standing there, towel wrapped loosely round his hips. His toned chest and stomach on display and his arms, God, HIS ARMS, were perfect, and, bloody hell, his trousers suddenly felt too tight. What was the matter with him? Why was this happening now?

Oliver was still stood there. Percy didn’t dare look up. He heard Oliver cough and then a quiet “Percy.” He slowly looked up, his face still red, but a much pinker shade than before, and met Oliver’s gaze.

“What was that?” Oliver asked softly.

“What, I, um, what was what?” finished Percy, lamely.

“The way you just looked at me, you’ve never done that before,” Oliver continued, “You never look at me at all, actually. You never come to Quidditch anymore, either.”

Percy felt himself flush again, this time with anger. “How would you know?” he snapped, “You dropped me like a Dungbomb in fourth year. And not everything’s about Quidditch.”

Oliver’s mouth quirked up on one side, almost a smile. “I know,” he said “I forget that not everyone feels the same as I do.” His eyes were intense and fixed on Percy. Percy felt his cheeks begin to redden again. He felt as though he was missing something.

“What did I do wrong?” Percy asked quietly, his gaze shifting to the floor, “We were friends and then we weren’t. You never spoke to me after that, it was like I no longer existed.”

Oliver took a deep breath, “You didn’t do anything wrong, Perce,” he said, and Percy’s eyes snapped up at the use of his old nickname. “You always existed,” Oliver continued, “I know I was a dick. I was fourteen, I didn’t know what else to do. I thought you’d hate me.”

Percy was genuinely confused now. It must have shown on his face because Oliver continued. “I should have said something before. I kept telling myself to, but you were so busy with school stuff and then you started seeing Penelope and I made excuses not to.”

“How’d you know about Penelope?” Percy asked. As far as he knew they’d been a secret. He couldn’t handle having the twins find out. They teased him enough already.

“I know everything about you Perce,” Oliver said with a small smile, “And I’m not always happy about it, obviously, but if you’re happy, it’s enough. Can’t say I was disappointed when you two broke up, though.”

Percy’s confusion was getting worse. “Why would something I do make you unhappy?” he asked.

“Jesus, Perce, I forgot that for a smart bloke you can be stupid sometimes,” Oliver was smiling at him fully now. “I fell for you, idiot, and stupid, cowardly me had absolutely no idea how to handle it. Being around you was as awkward as hell for me and I didn’t know how to talk to you without giving myself away.”

Percy was frozen as Oliver’s words sunk in. “So, you just cut me out of your life instead,” he asked, incredulously.

“I didn’t mean too,” Oliver’s face was desperate, “I just, well, I didn’t know how you’d take it and I’d rather have you hating me for being a git, than for being gay.”

Percy was quiet for a long time. Oliver was still as he waited “I wouldn’t have hated you,” Percy said, at last, “I think it might have taken me some time to understand, but it would have been okay.”

Oliver took a step towards him. “Do you know why I always shower up here?” he asked, “It’s because I know you’ll be in here by yourself and I get to have those minutes with you, even if you don’t know it.”

Percy looked at Oliver. His face was open, earnest. “You still like me?” he asked, shocked.

Oliver smiled shyly, “It’s always been you, idiot. I just never thought I had a chance.”

Percy suddenly remembered his reaction to Oliver’s body, the same body that was still half naked and standing in front of him. He felt himself blush again. “I’ve really never considered it before,” he said, “I haven’t a clue, what I’m doing.”

Oliver took another step forward, “Would you let me show you?”

Percy stood, and in two steps was standing in front of Oliver, closer to him than he’d been in years. Oliver reached out a hand and placed it gently on Percy’s cheek. Percy leant his head into it, and was surprised at how nice it felt.

“Can I kiss you, Perce?” whispered Oliver. Percy nodded, smiling, and closed his eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> A new pairing for me. I found out they would have been room mates and couldn't stop thinking about it.


End file.
